Bethel College Dedicates Nurses

Jan. 21, 2006 at 2 p.m., Bethel dedicated 65 students in the ADN and BSN RN programs. Each student was recognized for completing the first clinical semester and advancing to a more complex level of critical thinking, procedures, care, and application of theoretical concepts. Family and friends were invited to attend the ceremony during which students received a Florence Nightingale lamp and white New Testaments, symbols of their dedication to a life of service and helping others.

Joanne Weaver, a graduate of the LaJunta School of Nursing in LaJunta, Colo., was the featured speaker. Weaver is a volunteer Chaplin from Goshen Hospital and is active in her home church, Pleasant View Mennonite in Goshen. She also attended the Mennonite Seminary in Elkhart and has served as a youth minister. Dr. Joanne Widerquist, professor in the graduate nursing program at Bethel College spoke on the meaning of the nursing lamp. Dr. Widerquist has done research in England on the Florence Nightingale Lamp.

The ceremony was held in the Rohrer Everest Chapel/Fine Arts Center on the Bethel College campus and involves both the students on the Bethel campus and those at the off-site location at Grace College in Winona Lake. The ADN program is held off-site at Grace College along with the RN-BSN completion program.

Bethel College is an accredited Christian college of the arts and sciences offering associates, bachelor's and master's degrees in more than 50 areas of study. The current enrollment of 1,964 includes students from 34 states, 17 countries, more than 20 denominational affiliations and 16 percent from culturally diverse backgrounds. Scholarships are available based upon a variety of factors including academic achievement, talent in the arts or athletics, ethnicity and church affiliation. Bethel offers classes at four satellite locations, as well as its Elkhart campus. The main Bethel campus is situated on 75 wooded acres in Mishawaka, Ind.

Editor's Note: A photo is available upon request by emailing Sheila Jacobsen at jacobss@BethelCollege.edu